Feed the world, let Ed know it's Christmas time again - Susan Dalgety

Sir Bob Geldof (second left), along with other artists recording the first ever Band Aid single, Do They Know It's Christmas

For those too young to remember Band Aid, it was a collection of 1980s superstars brought together by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure to raise money for the 1984 famine in Ethiopia.

The disaster, played out on our TV screens, left more than a million people dead. For many Scots, it was their first eyewitness experience of how vulnerable many parts of sub-Saharan Africa were – and are still.

The single, and Live Aid – the 1985 Wembley concert starring David Bowie, Mick Jagger and Freddie Mercury among others – raised millions of pounds for famine relief, and crucially helped raise sustainable development much higher up the political agenda.

But it seems singer Ed Sheeran objects to the new single, sharing a post by rapper Fuse ODG that describes it as “colonial” and stifling Africa’s economic growth.

Now I have to admit I have never consciously listened to an Ed Sheeran track, but I do have some knowledge of sub-Saharan Africa. Indeed, I have written a book about it, and I can reassure Mr Sheeran that a pop song, even one as famous as Band Aid’s, is not stifling the economy of countries like Ethiopia or Malawi – the country I know best.

Indeed, since the single was first released, Ethiopia’s economy has grown significantly. However, it remains one of the poorest countries in the world, with a per capita gross national income of $1020 a year. Slightly less than Sheeran’s net worth of $200 million.

Malawi’s economy is flatlining, with inflation running at more than 30 per cent and the country unable to provide basic public services without support from international donors.

The reasons for sub-Saharan Africa’s problems are legion, including wars, the climate emergency, exploitation by rich countries such as ours, a lack of infrastructure, famine . . .

I could go on, but nowhere on that list is a cheesy 1980s pop single featuring the late, great George Michael.

As David Bowie put it in 1984, “It would be wonderful if you could all buy copies of this record. Thank you.”